NYC Diamond District raid allegedly linked to housebreaking of Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s residence, sources say

NEW YORK — Two individuals have been taken into federal custody Tuesday following an investigation linked to the housebreaking of the house of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, sources inform CBS Information New York. 

Prosecutors arrested and charged Dmitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar with conspiracy to obtain stolen property. 

Nezhinskiy, 43, of North Bergen, New Jersey, and Villar, 48, of Queens, allegedly acquired stolen luxurious items ripped off by organized South American gangs working throughout the U.S., prosecutors say. These gangs have been concentrating on multimillion greenback properties nationwide — allegedly together with Burrow’s. 

The 2 are due in courtroom Wednesday. If convicted of receipt of stolen items, they may resist 10 years in jail. 

FBI brokers executed a search warrant Tuesday on the second-floor Diamond District pawn store the 2 function, the place they allegedly fenced the stolen items. On the pawn store, brokers allegedly recovered “giant portions of suspected stolen property, together with dozens of high-end watches and jewellery.”

Extra allegedly stolen property was additionally discovered at storage models belonging to Nezhinskiy in New Jersey. 

Tuesday’s arrests come after 4 Chileans have been arrested final month and accused within the housebreaking of Burrow’s residence, together with quite a few others. Burrow’s Cincinnati residence was damaged into whereas he was taking part in an away sport in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Final October, the properties of Kansas Metropolis Chiefs superstars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have been damaged into days aside. 

“An important market of the stolen items,” prosecutors say

The arrests got here after authorities mentioned an undercover detective performed seven gross sales of purportedly stolen items with the 2 at their Diamond District enterprise.

“Nezhinskiy and Villar’s operation offered an important marketplace for the stolen items, perpetuating the damaging legal actions of the housebreaking and theft crews composed largely of international nationals,” prosecutors mentioned. 

“As alleged, the defendants created a bootleg market and fueled demand for burglaries by South American Theft Teams and different crews across the nation by buying stolen watches, jewellery and different luxurious objects, after which re-selling them of their New York Metropolis retailer,” U.S. Lawyer Durham mentioned in a press release. 

“For nearly 5 years, Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar allegedly served as illegal brokers to perpetuate the sale of stolen luxurious objects by buying them from housebreaking crews. The defendants’ alleged actions incentivized extremely organized South American Theft Teams to proceed their meticulous looting scheme in opposition to a myriad of prosperous residences and companies throughout the nation,” FBI Assistant Director in Cost Dennehy mentioned. 

“We won’t tolerate crime of any variety in New York, whether or not it’s road crime, retail theft, or these organized operations that focus on residential properties to steal and resell luxurious items,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned.

Ali Bauman

Ali Bauman is a New York Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist who has been a basic project reporter for CBS Information New York since spring 2016.